Warning: Bad language.
Binah Katayanagi, 21, District 3 Mentor POV
The moment Fawkes launches next to Eros, I force myself to give up on him.
I've been here before, watching Régine Maurin carve words into my best friend's skin and still willing him to live. I know that it's less painful to just let go. To let your heart harden and freeze and lose what makes you human.
I've witnessed what losing Fawkes did to Manel. I'm not going to let it happen to me. Maybe it's for the best that I never told Fawkes how I felt. Now I can pretend that my feelings for him were just a figment of my imagination. Something I made up in my head.
When this ends, I can go back to my lonely life with only a computer screen to keep me company and I can pretend I never dreamed of anything different.
So when Eros starts beating Fawkes up, I tell myself to feel nothing. It's only when Eros forces him to his knees and asks for last words that I break.
Because Fawkes doesn't break. He holds his head high and says. "Fuck you, Eros."
I know he's thinking about me. I know he's trying to be as brave as possible for me. And it destroys me.
I try to blink the tears away and focus on Fawkes' vitals. It's easier to watch a few lines and numbers than a boy being drowned. I watch his heartbeat fade, trying to forget about all the time that heart beat so close to me I could feel it. Maybe I can reduce Fawkes to a few pixels on a screen.
It's foolish to be in love with a few pixels on a screen. But it's even more foolish to be in love with a tribute.
I stare at the line on the screen and watch it slowly flatten.
Let him go, Binah. Let him die. You failed but at least he won't be in pain for much longer.
Then a miracle happens.
The line starts to move again.
Régine Maurin, 18, District 3 Tribute POV
It takes me forever to get to Fawkes. I think they put me right on the opposite side of the Cornucopia to him. I'm lucky that nobody attacked me as I was running to him, otherwise I'd have taken even longer.
But when I get to him, he's lying - pale, bruised and unconscious - on the beach. Sankie is kneeling beside him.
"What happened?" I ask.
"Eros got him," Sankie says. "He put him in the water. Then Diana killed him."
I look around. Eros' head is lying in the sand nearby and, a little further away, Diana and Rusalka are locked in combat. I remember being in the arena with Dio, how he was so eager for his fist kill, he ended up jumping over a chasm on a wounded leg and beheading the girl from Five.
I suppose it runs in the family.
"Do you have any medical skills?" I ask Sankie. I trained a little in medicine at the academy but I never took anything more than mandatory classes and, even then, I never paid much attention.
Sankie shakes her head.
I'm torn. I could try to revive Fawkes somehow but that might not save him and it would leave Sankie vulnerable. Or I could give up on Fawkes and focus in keeping Sankie alive, knowing that I broke my promise to Binah.
Luckily, Ageis sprints over. There's a cut on her arm but, otherwise, she looks fine.
"Got any medical skills?" I ask.
"No," Ageis says. "My aunt said there was no point."
"Okay," I say. "Guard Sankie."
I examine Fawkes a little closer. He doesn't look like he's breathing. I check his pulse and there's nothing.
He's dead. I failed.
"What happened?" I look up to see Silver standing nearby. I wonder why he's not with Katniss and Peeta.
"He's dead," I say.
"How?" Silver asks. "Drowning?"
I nod, trying to hold back tears.
Wordlessly, Silver kneels down beside me and starts pressing at Fawkes' chest with his hands. I almost sob with relief. I vaguely remember someone demonstrating CPR at the academy but there was no way I'd have remembered all the steps.
I stand up, readying my bow in case someone tries to attack us. Drachma is by the Cornucopia, beating another tribute to a pulp and, soon, she'll get bored and be out for blood. Rusalka looks to be winning her fight against Diana and will probably come for us once Diana dies. I consider shooting Rusalka but I'm worried that I might accidentally hit Diana.
Silver starts muttering swear words. I look down to see if he's given up but he pinches Fawkes' nose shut and starts breathing into his mouth. I return to looking out for potential threats, trying to ignore what's happening. I know that, the longer Silver takes to get Fawkes breathing again, the less likely Fawkes is to survive.
"Come on, Fawkes," Silver starts pumping at Fawkes' chest again. "I'm not kissing you again, you fucking idiot."
He still leans in to breathe into Fawkes' mouth again. I open my mouth to tell him that it isn't working but I can't bring myself to say it.
Then, just as Silver's pulling away, Fawkes splutters and starts coughing up water.
"Yes!" Silver cries. I think this is the first time I've ever seen him smile.
"Is he okay?" I ask.
"Maybe the lack of oxygen to the brain caused some damage," Silver says. "But he's breathing."
"Let's get out of here," Ageis says.
"Okay," I say. "Fawkes, can you walk?"
Fawkes doesn't respond. He's still unconscious, even though he's started breathing again. Carefully, I pick him up in my arms and carry him towards the jungle. His right leg hangs at a strange angle. I can tell it's broken but there's nothing I can do about it.
I hope Fawkes is okay. I hope he wakes up and everything is fine. If Eros has done any serious damage to him, I know that Binah will hate me forever.
And I'll blame myself forever.
Mako Yubeta, 18, District 8 Tribute POV
So far, being a rebel hasn't been very good for me.
I started out intending to kill at least one Wrack. But, by the time I'd swum to the Cornucopia and grabbed a sword, they'd both swum away like a couple of cowards. Then Splendour got killed, seemingly by a fourteen-year-old, and Diana decided it was a good idea to kill Eros in front of Rusalka.
It wasn't. It was a very bad idea. One reason it was a bad idea is that it got her killed. But the big, important reason it was a bad idea was that I am now guilty by association. Rusalka is now suspicious of me because I was Diana's closest ally.
But, on the positive side of things, the other member of our alliance to survive the bloodbath is Drachma and she was never on Eros' side. I know that Drachma will take my side if Rusalka ever tries to attack me.
Drachma's also pretty smart. She came up with the idea that we should collect the bodies to see who's dead and try to figure out who killed them. Since I'm the best swimmer, I collect two bodies from the waves. The first is Liberty Stringer. Her head lolls on the end of a broken neck. There's only one tribute strong enough to attempt a move like that in the bloodbath - Eidolon Wrack.
The second is Peeta Mellark. There are cuts all over his face but no sign of anything fatal. My heart sinks as I pull his body ashore. Now the rebellion has lost a vital tribute.
I study the other bodies. Splendour, Eros and Diana, I knew about. Modus Pigeon was Drachma's kill. Lacquera Wake seems to have succumbed to her injuries from fighting Splendour. There was always something a little off about Charon Regatti so seeing his body on the ground isn't that much of a shock.
The only real surprise is Katniss Everdeen.
Drachma stands over the fallen victor, studying her slit throat.
"Anyone see who killed her?" She asks.
"No," Rusalka says. I shake my head, mutely, wondering what Katniss' death means.
Does it mean that the rebellion is going to give up?
Does it mean that I'll never get my revenge?
"I was next to her," Drachma says. "I think it was Ten. He was somewhere nearby. I just wanted to be sure."
"You're Ten," Rusalka points out.
"I mean the real Ten," Drachma corrects. "I think his name's Jiro... Ethridge? He's stealthy, kind of forgettable, good with a knife. He's actually pretty cool for an outlier."
"We'll have to watch out for him," I say, wondering who else we'll have to watch out for now that the Twelves are dead. There were a few heavy hitters in on the rebellion - Silver Oberst, Ageis Sacro, Régine Maurin. Now that there's no common cause to protect, all three of them could be out to get me.
I'm aware that I'm one of the best fighters in the arena. I got one of the highest training scores. I'm a target to anyone who's playing to win.
And everyone's playing to win now.
Rusalka looks at Eros' headless body and growls.
"Where's Three?" She asks.
"Still alive, probably," Drachma says.
Rusalka shakes her head. "I watched Eros drown him. Where's the body?"
"This is Fawkes Chau we're talking about," I say. "I may not have been around for his games but, to the extent of my knowledge, he came second because he pranked the Elites to death."
"So you're saying his corpse just got up and walked away?" Rusalka asks, accusingly.
"I guess we'll find out when the cannons fire," Drachma says. She pulls a face, surprised. I suppose she's not used to being the mediator in a situation like this. "Speaking of cannons, shouldn't they have fired by now? The bloodbath's over."
"One of the corpses is breathing," Rusalka says. She points at Lacquera Wake.
We cluster around Lacquera's body. She's badly injured and half-conscious but, clearly, still alive.
"Surprise..." Lacquera murmurs. "I'm not dead."
Drachma grins. "Who wants this kill? We're all on one, right?"
"I'm on zero, actually," the words spill out of my mouth.
"Okay," Drachma says. "She's all yours. She killed Splendour. Do your worst."
In that moment, I make a decision.
I don't want to be a rebel anymore. I want to be an Elite again. I want to strike fear in the hearts of outliers. Then, when I get the victory I deserve, I'll use my new power to bring my wrath upon those who killed me. There's nothing wrong with the system that the rebellion's trying to overthrow. It's just little bugs in the system - like the rebellion - that lead to people getting killed who don't deserve to die.
And I don't want a part in it anymore.
So, as I raise my sword and start cutting Lacquera apart, I decide that I am going to send a little message to everyone who played a part in killing me and everyone who intends to mess with me in the future.
You're next.
Yes, I know. I'm evil. I decided to make the bloodbath last two chapters again. I can officially declare it over. The official death toll is nine tributes, which breaks my record from The Bride and The Widow. Here's a little recap of who died.
24th: Liberty Stringer, neck snapped by Eidolon
23rd: Modus Pigeon, punched to death by Drachma
22nd: Katniss Everdeen, throat slit by Jiro
21st: Peeta Mellark, poisoned by Asteraceae
20th: Charon Regatti, speared by Ageis
19th: Splendour Rimbaud, axed by Lacquera
18th: Eros Buonafonte, beheaded by Diana
17th: Diana di Angelo, axed by Rusalka
16th: Lacquera Wake, tortured to death by Mako
I picked my bloodbath deaths for a few different reasons. Some of them, I killed to advance the plot, and some died because I couldn't see them playing a role in the plot beyond the bloodbath. Some of them, I could picture playing a big role in the plot later on in the story but they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. For example, I only killed Diana off because I made the mistake of surrounding Fawkes with Careers (again) and I knew that whoever saved him would get killed.
I got the idea to have Fawkes drown only to be resuscitated by Silver from my maths teacher, who was in a similar situation when he was learning to dive and his equipment failed (shoutout to my maths teacher for surviving and teaching my class maths during a pandemic). All the pieces seemed to fall into place. It gave Silver a chance to show off his medical skills and everyone else a chance to be super angsty.
Katniss and Peeta's deaths are already starting to have an impact. Mako was never fully invested in the rebellion but, without Katniss and Peeta to give him hope or Diana to be his conscience, he's completely lost faith in it. Now he's trying to distance himself from the rebellion and protect himself by being as Career as possible. Will the other rebel Careers react in a similar way? Only time will tell...
The last two chapters were intense. Next chapter will be more focused on mentors so there will be less death.